Favorite Synomyns

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alysen6: Okay, this topic might be a little...I dunno...academic? But bear with me here:

I wondered what words you all like to use to refer to the penis, in which circumstances, and what connotation different words carry with them for you. For example:

"Penis"- I realized that I almost never use the word "penis" when referring to it (except in this thread). It seems a little academic, like something in a med journal, or almost asexual, like you're talking about an elbow or a kneecap.

"Dick" is pretty casual and universal, used among informal company. It sounds pretty masculine (one syllable with a hard consonant ending), and therefore appropriate when referring to the body of a male friend or boyfriend. Plus, "big dick" just sounds sexy.

"Cock" is similarly casual and masculine, though even more so, and maybe a bit more racy. I use it in the bedroom a lot (good for turning a guy on), and when describing a sexual experience. I think it also carries a bit more of a power connotation. A "big cock" seems a bit more badass and unpredicatble than a "big dick."

"Schlong"- I like this word. It's much more laid back and maybe a bit younger than the others, like the word a college frat boy would use in preference to the other names. I usually use it to refer to a soft penis as opposed to a hard one (it sounds a bit softer than, say, "cock.") It also seems to imply size more than the other words. A "dick" can be big or small, but a "schlong" just sounds big, without any adjectives attached to it.

"Pecker"- I never liked this word (no offense to the lpsg member of the same name ), since it sounds like I am in grade school again referring to what I accidentally glimpsed when I wandered into the woodline by the boys' campsite. "And it was a tiny little pecker, too!" Doesn't really sound sexy to me, either.

"Dong"- Like schlong, this word just sounds big. It's a bit more comical than others (I wouldn't use it in the bedroom), and maybe a bit more informal. Plus it's also the name of a type of North Korean missle, which is a cool double-meaning as a bonus, especially if your boyfriend happens to be Asian.

I could go on, of course, but I wanted to know what your favorite words are for The Subject we talk about on this board. It's cool to think about if you have the time and mental energy.

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Anyway, I use pretty much the same words for my dick, cock, schlong, member, johnson, penis...

Penis is so medical sounding. To me it has no sexual inuendo at all. Penis is the word I use when talking to my doctor, "I have this rash on my penis." or if I don't want to offend someone "Did you see that guys penis sticking out his shorts?"

Dick is used the most. It can be both non-sexual and sexual. "You make my dick so hard." or "Damn, my dick itches." It's also a great word to call someone who's rude. "Thanks for signalling dick! God, what an asshole." (Ironic how dick and asshole go together so well eh? )

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[quote author=alysen6 link=board=meetgreet;num=1079907707;start=0#0 date=03/21/04 at 14:12:46]"Penis"- I realized that I almost never use the word "penis" when referring to it (except in this thread). It seems a little academic, like something in a med journal, or almost asexual, like you're talking about an elbow or a kneecap.[/quote]
I usually use it for more neutral things. I'll use it in medical discussion, or in description of an image, but that's about it. It's just like how "My stomach feels funny" is stupid compared to "I've felt the need to vomit for several days."

"Dick" is pretty casual and universal, used among informal company. It sounds pretty masculine (one syllable with a hard consonant ending), and therefore appropriate when referring to the body of a male friend or boyfriend. Plus, "big dick" just sounds sexy.

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I don't associate monosyllables ending in masculine names consonant endings with masculinity, but then again, I live on the West Coast, so English constructions rarer. (Just chalk it up to the Sapir-Wolof hypothesis.) The slant-rhyme "big dick" is nice.

"Cock" is similarly casual and masculine, though even more so, and maybe a bit more racy. I use it in the bedroom a lot (good for turning a guy on), and when describing a sexual experience. I think it also carries a bit more of a power connotation. A "big cock" seems a bit more badass and unpredicatble than a "big dick."

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Cock also has that bit of vanity to it. But I always figured there was some sort of gay connotation to it, not that there's anything wrong with that. I guess it's because the first time I heard cock was as part of the epithet cocksucker.

"Schlong"- I like this word. It's much more laid back and maybe a bit younger than the others, like the word a college frat boy would use in preference to the other names. I usually use it to refer to a soft penis as opposed to a hard one (it sounds a bit softer than, say, "cock.") It also seems to imply size more than the other words. A "dick" can be big or small, but a "schlong" just sounds big, without any adjectives attached to it.

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Schlong sounds too much like something an elderly comic would say for my tastes, personally.

"Pecker"- I never liked this word (no offense to the lpsg member of the same name ), since it sounds like I am in grade school again referring to what I accidentally glimpsed when I wandered into the woodline by the boys' campsite. "And it was a tiny little pecker, too!" Doesn't really sound sexy to me, either.

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Pecker always sounded childish to me. Same for prick.

"Dong"- Like schlong, this word just sounds big. It's a bit more comical than others (I wouldn't use it in the bedroom), and maybe a bit more informal. Plus it's also the name of a type of North Korean missle, which is a cool double-meaning as a bonus, especially if your boyfriend happens to be Asian.

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Captin_hung: a friend of mine doing her masters in sexual therapy has just had to do something like this. she had to find out all the slang terms for mastubation,peins,and vagina but i cant remember the website that there posted on

Penis is the correct scientific word, so of course it does tend to have a clinical ring to it. That is why I use the 'classical' plural penes. However, I don't use the clinical term that much.

Cock is my preferred term. A monosyllabic word with a back vowel tends to sound masculine and, well, BIG! The same applies to schlong and dong. I use schlong occasionally. I rarely use the word dong; I guess it's a little too Oriental sounding to fit with my cultural background. (But then, why do I sometimes use the Yiddish sounding schlong? Oi!)

[Side note concerning cock: in Spain, a poultry related word is used for the penis as well, but rather than the logically masculine cock that we use, the Spaniards call it polla (hen). Go figure!]

Dick and peter contain front vowels, so they tend to sound small. I occasionally use the word dick, but vanity prevents my using a small sounding word to refer to my cock!

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lomejorhombre: I really like the way DMW describes the words and meanings based upon the accents and vowels. however for me I am much more reserved, you will never hear me say or write (or than right here) the word dick or any of the others. I am a scientist, and a science teacher, anatomy is really core to my vocabulary, and using anything other than penis sounds odd. Thats just I sure a result of my roots as well and how open or casual we were in discussing things. While in High School my parents started coming to me to help them use more socially acceptable terminology, just so they could have such frank topics with me and my siblings. As a result over time I find it hard to call it anything else.
On another note my wife came from an even more proper family than me, and I can always tell how turned on she is when she starts to say more of the common terms already mentioned, then this really turns me on too!

[quote author=lomejorhombre link=board=meetgreet;num=1079907707;start=0#8 date=03/22/04 at 10:26:58]I am a scientist, and a science teacher, anatomy is really core to my vocabulary, and using anything other than penis sounds odd. [/quote]

Well, phallus is as socially acceptable as penis, yet still more masculine sounding. A 'big, meaty phallus' sounds much more 'appealing than a 'big, meaty penis' in my opinion. (Okay, I know that phallus can have a different definition than penis in strict biological terms, but in common parlance, they are usually regarded as one and the same.)

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Schlong and schwanz certainly don't sound right for an uncircumcised penis. The same goes with putz and schmekel.

Oh, adding one to the 'ethnic' list: The Lakota word for penis is fairly simple, che. (Pronounced like the ch in cheese and the e in fed.) But I like to pretend it's a long vowel; since the Indian population doubles every decade, that can certainly be described as a 'revolution'.

Sorry, but weapon, missile, and gun (As in "This is my rifle, this is my gun") all make me think lesbian separatists were on to something about all sex being rape.

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Well, goober is Swahili for peanut, which doesn't make any sense at all.

Cock might have to do with vanity. Prick focuses on penetration, while weapon, gun, and missile are all Freud at work. Schwanz, schlong, putz, and schmekel are all of Yiddish origin. Dong might have something to do with donkey, particularly the partial nasalization of donkey.

Johnson is simply the most common Anglo-Saxon last name.

Dick probably evolved from dirk, another long dagger with a straight blade. In turn, that word's of Celtic origin.

Schwanz was originally High German for 'tail'. This tranference to the penis is not uncommon in other languages. Latin penis, French queue and Spanish cola were words that originally meant 'tail', but now refer to the male member.

Schmuck is Old High German Schmacke, 'decoration, ornament'. Some of us indeed regard our Schmucks as fashion accessories!